zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
Jay Leno Climbs Out Of The Nose Of A Flying Boat In Flight
Jay Leno Climbs Out Of The Nose Of A Flying Boat In Flight-November 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:57

A video is blowing up on social media showing popping out of an aircraft’s nose. It’s a stunt that looks sort of fake but it’s the real deal thanks to the plane involved.

On Wednesday, comedian and avid car collector Jay Leno appeared on fellow car enthusiast Spike’s Car Radio podcast. In it, the former Tonight Show host talked about the time he did a stunt in an aircraft just for giggles. Leno doesn’t say when it happened, but the video, shared to Feresten’s , shows him seemingly popping up out of nowhere ahead of a gorgeous 1951 Grumman HU-16 Albatross flying boat’s windows.

At first, it looks like the stunt was done in a simulator. Leno explains that the stunt happened around Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California. He wanted to surprise his friends onboard the plane, who apparently didn’t know that the plane has a hatch in its nose.

Some news and tabloid are saying that the plane involved is a private jet, but it’s pretty far from that:

Image for article titled Jay Leno Climbs Out Of The Nose Of A Flying Boat In Flight

The Grumman HU-16 Albatross, tail number N98TP, is owned by , a Minnesota-based company dedicated to maintaining and restoring historic aircraft. N98TP is a rare breed, being an amphibian that can land on the ground with wheels, land on water with its hull or land on snow with skis. The flying boat is powered by a pair of Wright R-1820 radial engines.

It served in Korea and Vietnam performing search and rescue missions and got to fly around much of the world. Now it lives an easy life flying aviation enthusiasts around.

On the flying boat’s nose is a hatch directly ahead of the cockpit.

Image for article titled Jay Leno Climbs Out Of The Nose Of A Flying Boat In Flight

Leno says that he popped that hatch and pulled himself out while the aircraft was flying at about 147 mph. He also says that he wasn’t tethered, but there does appear to be some sort of rope that he had to move around for the stunt. Leno achieved his goal, as everyone on the flight deck had a hearty laugh.

Another video, posted by Instagram user , shows how easy it is to pop the hatch open on this Albatross and stick your head out.

So there doesn’t appear to be any movie magic going on here, just a neat feature on a really cool aircraft.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
Harley-Davidson Knows This Might Get Worse
Harley-Davidson Knows This Might Get Worse
Harley-Davidson on March 18, around the same time automakers in this country were idling their plants as well. Those factories have remain shuttered, while Harley today said that it was making deeper cost cuts as the coronavirus pandemic persists in shutting down the world. If Harley before coronavirus hit,...
Nov 6, 2026
The First Airplane To Fly In England Was Absolutely Ridiculous Looking
The First Airplane To Fly In England Was Absolutely Ridiculous Looking
Most of us can roughly picture what the first real powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, looked like: two big parallel and rectangular wings, held in a flimsy-looking structure of wire and slats that held a prone Wright brother and an engine with a propeller. It’s general look sort of...
Nov 6, 2026
Russia's Giant World War II Victory Parade Has Been Postponed Because Of The Pandemic
Russia's Giant World War II Victory Parade Has Been Postponed Because Of The Pandemic
Since the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, Soviet and later Russian troops have massed for massive parades at the major anniversaries of the end of World War II. This year, as Russia and the rest of the world celebrate seventy-five years since the defeat of Nazism, the parade...
Nov 6, 2026
This Is What An Almost Completely Paused Air Travel Industry Looks Like
This Is What An Almost Completely Paused Air Travel Industry Looks Like
A friend of mine and fellow- (also a former actual movie Herbie owner, and now an owner of one of the Porsche racecars from Ford vs. Ferrari), Tory, works for a major airline, and was taking one last trip before going on leave. Tory sent me some pictures and...
Nov 6, 2026
Inside The Ship That Stands Watch Over The Melting Arctic
Inside The Ship That Stands Watch Over The Melting Arctic
You can tell the Norwegian research vessel Johan Hjort is made for the Arctic because it holds a tanning bed inside. “Quite a few have these in fact, especially those vessels working over the high north during the winter when there is no sun at all,” said the boat’s captain,...
Nov 6, 2026
The 'Peace Line' Carried Jews Out Of Egypt By Bus (And Even Brought Them Back)
The 'Peace Line' Carried Jews Out Of Egypt By Bus (And Even Brought Them Back)
This week is Passover, when we celebrate that super-long road trip across the desert from Egypt to Israel that my ancestors took a few thousand years back. Since then, travel between Egypt and the Promised Land usually hasn’t been much easier. Except for that brief period when there was...
Nov 6, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved